Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Lord Campbell-Savours: To ask Her Majesty's Government what research they have commissioned on the development of a COVID-19 vaccine which can be administered in a single dose.

Lord Callanan: The Government has invested in a portfolio of COVID-19 vaccines across a range of modalities to secure UK access to the most promising candidates. The clinical trials of these vaccines involve testing their safety and efficacy across a range of scenarios, including testing efficacy rates of both single and multi-dose delivery methods. This will ensure the UK has early access to those vaccines that offer the most protection against COVID-19.

Insurance: Accountancy

Baroness Bowles of Berkhamsted: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the effect of implementing IFRS 17 in the UK on the reported capital of insurance companies, and (2) the financial effect of implementing IFRS 17 for the 10 largest insurance companies in the UK; and, if they have made no such assessments, why not.

Lord Callanan: While the responsibility for adopting International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) sits with the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, the UK Endorsement Board secretariat has been tasked with assessing IFRS 17 (the new accounting standard relating to insurance contracts) against the adoption criteria set out in the International Accounting Standards and European Public Limited-Liability Company (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019. Planning for the work required to assess the standard against those criteria is underway. It is expected to include outreach with representatives from stakeholder groups across the UK’s insurance sector, including preparers of financial statements. It will also encompass an Impact Assessment of the standard which will include consideration of the financial effect of implementing IFRS 17, including on capital included in the accounts, for those entities that apply IFRS. These include the largest insurance companies in the UK. The results of the assessment of IFRS 17 against the adoption criteria will be published ahead of any adoption of the standard.

Insurance: Accountancy

Baroness Bowles of Berkhamsted: To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the involvement of the insurance sector and the Investment Association in their decision to endorse the IFRS 17 financial reporting standard; whether the Investment Association will be excluded from endorsement activities in connection with this standard; and if so, how.

Lord Callanan: IFRS 17 Insurance Contracts has not yet been adopted for use in the UK. The International Accounting Standards Board has set an effective date of 1 January 2023 for the standard internationally. Planning for the work to assess the standard has commenced and it will be assessed against the adoption criteria set out in the International Accounting Standards and European Public Limited-Liability Company (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019. Those Regulations oblige the Secretary of State to consult such persons as are considered to be representative of those with an interest in the quality and availability of accounts, including users and preparers of accounts. We expect that the Investment Association will have an interest in the quality of accounts prepared by companies as it represents investment managers who manage over £8.5 trillion of assets on behalf of clients in the UK and around the world. As a result, we expect outreach activities, when finalised, to include input from many user representatives including the Investment Association.

Hinkley Point C Power Station

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their current estimate for the (1) outturn cost, and (2) date to start exporting power to the National Grid, of Hinkley Point C.

Lord Callanan: Under the terms of the Contract for Difference, neither taxpayer nor consumer is liable to contribute to the construction cost of Hinkley Point C. The Contract for Difference defines a Commissioning Window for each of the two nuclear reactors. These are from 1st May 2025 to 30th April 2029 for Reactor One and 1st November 2025 to 31st October 2029 for Reactor Two. In September 2019, the lead investor in Hinkley Point C published a statement on the project cost and schedule. This said that the capital cost is likely to be between £21.5Bn and £22.5Bn (these figures are in 2015 money). The developer is targeting power generation by the end of 2025.

Energy: Conservation

Lord Moynihan: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have tointroduce a fully funded network to provide comprehensive, independent and trusted advice on energy efficiency measures in England similar to the Home Energy Scotland network.

Lord Callanan: The Simple Energy Advice Service (SEA) was launched in 2018, in response to the Government-commissioned Each Home Counts Review, as a digital and phone line service to provide homeowners with impartial and tailored advice on how to cut their energy bills and make their homes greener. Since the launch of SEA, over 1 million unique users have accessed the site. We are committed to improving the SEA website, based on user needs and user research. At a local level, the Government has provided £4.7 million to six local supply chain demonstration pilots, which are testing new approaches to supporting home energy retrofit in the able-to-pay sector in England. We are also working with Local Authorities through the Local Energy Programme to develop support for local retrofit programmes by addressing local barriers to clean growth activity.

Rolls-Royce: Spain

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the UK's departure from the EU on the decision by Rolls-Royce to transfer production of aero-engine manufacturing from Britain to Spain.

Lord Callanan: Rolls-Royce has made clear that the restructuring and global site review reflects the change in medium-term market conditions which have been impacted by the global COVID19 pandemic. Rolls-Royce has announced proposals to consolidate work into the UK including consolidating all widebody engine Assembly & Test capability in Derby, as well as closing a site in the US and consolidating the advanced manufacturing capabilities into Derby and Washington, Tyne & Wear.

Rolls-Royce: Barnoldswick

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the announcement by Rolls-Royce that it plans to move aero engine manufacturing overseas, what action they plan to take to maintain advanced manufacturing at Rolls-Royce Barnoldswick.

Lord Callanan: The Government understands that Rolls-Royce do not intend to close the site at Barnoldswick but will continue production of fan blades for some of their engines and retain a fan blade product development and technical support centre. Rolls-Royce has also announced proposals to bring back work into the UK. For example, it is proposing to withdraw from its Singapore Assembly & Test facility for widebody engines, consolidating all widebody engine Assembly & Test capability in the UK. It has also closed a site in the US consolidating any future workload in the UK.

Green Homes Grant Scheme

Lord Teverson: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the progress in increasing the number of businesses which are TrustMark registered and certified to install insulation measures in park homes under the Green Homes Grant Voucher Scheme; and what steps they are taking to ensure an appropriate geographic distribution of such registered and certified businesses to enable comprehensive access to their services.

Lord Callanan: Over the last two months, we have seen a 350% increase in the number of TrustMark registered park homes installers, with respect to the figure stated in the answer given by my Hon. Friend the Minister of State for Business, Energy and Clean Growth to my Hon. Friend the Member for Christchurch on 23rd October 2020 to Question 106216. BEIS officials have been working with the park homes industry, United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) and TrustMark to clarify what is required and encourage businesses to obtain Publicly Available Specification (PAS) certification to install insulation in park homes, and register as an installer for the Green Homes Grant. As part of the £6.9 million Green Homes Grant Skills Competition, we have taken steps to ensure comprehensive access to training for measures offered under the scheme, including for park homes. This includes ensuring good coverage of training providers, as well as retrofit coordinators and assessors required to support park home retrofits, across all regions in England.

Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the total value of loans extended under the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme where the annual rate of interest exceeds 14.99 per cent; andwhat is the highest rate of interest at which a Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan has been made.

Lord Callanan: Interest rates are set by lenders under the scheme. The British Business Bank and BEIS do not approve individual commercial terms. Some delivery partners accredited before the 14.99 per cent maximum rate of interest was in place can issue CBILS facilities with interest rates above 14.99 per cent. Facilities worth a total of £19.64 billion have been offered under CBILS. The total value of loans offered under the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) where the annual rate of interest exceeds 14.99 per cent is £35,364,874. The highest individual interest rate for a loan offered under the scheme is 34.9 per cent (all figures correct as of 17 December 2020).

Department of Health and Social Care

Hospices: Finance

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask Her Majesty's Government whatplans they haveto increase the funding thatclinicalcommissioning groups provideto the charitable hospice sector.

Lord Bethell: The Department and NHS England and NHS Improvement recognise the huge role palliative and end of life care services, including hospices, have played in the national response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This importance was acknowledged in the provision of over £150 million in additional central funding to the hospice sector between April and July. Further additional funding of up to £125 million has now been announced to enable hospices to continue their vital end of life care services and deliver even greater support for the NHS.

Ministry of Justice

Family Proceedings

Baroness Taylor of Bolton: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many family law cases were outstanding in each month of this year.

Baroness Scott of Bybrook: HM Courts and Tribunals Service publishes management information on workload and timeliness within the family courts on a monthly basis. This includes the number of outstanding cases which have been receipted but not yet disposed of at the end of each month.The following table details the number of private family law (children) cases and public family law cases outstanding at the end of each month of this year. This presents the most current data at the time of responding.MonthPrivate Family Law – outstanding casesPublic Family Law – outstanding casesJanuary 202051,90618,841February 202053,84419,367March 202056,37819,958April 202058,81919,626May 202062,52820,478June 202066,27121,156July 202069,99321,915August 202073,12622,390September 202072,81222,881This information is extracted from HMCTS case management systems and as management information, it is not subject to the same quality assurance process as official statistics. The latest HMCTS management information report (October 2020) can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/hmcts-management-information-october-2020.The information relating to outstanding private family law case excludes applications made under the Family Law Act 1996. This information is not published.Information about the volume of outstanding divorce applications each month is not published. However, this HMCTS management information report does contain other data about the management of divorce applications.

HM Courts and Tribunals Service: Databases

Baroness Taylor of Bolton: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the data collected by Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service on the outcomes of cases across courts and tribunals since March this year can be disaggregated by (1) case type, (2) whether the hearing was conducted remotely or in person, and (3) the protected characteristic of the parties to the case; and, if not, what plans they have to collect such data.

Baroness Scott of Bybrook: HMCTS continue to work to improve the data it collects, including following the recommendations in Dr Natalie Byrom’s report Digital Justice: HMCTS data strategy and delivering access to justice. The full response to the report is attached.HMCTS’ legacy technology systems are limited in the data they collect – as new systems and services are introduced, HMCTS is able to improve the position, in order to support its core purpose to provide an efficient and effective courts and tribunals system, which supports an independent judiciary in the administration of justice - enabling the rule of law to be upheld, and providing access to justice for all.To summarise the current position(1) Case typeIn the Crown Court HMCTS can disaggregate whether a case is triable either way, indictable only, for sentencing or an appeal. In the Magistrates Court HMCTS can report case type by Criminal, Enforcement and Civil, which can be further split by Offence type (ie Indictable, Either-way, Summary Non-Motoring, Summary Motoring, Breaches). In Family courts HMCTS can disaggregate public law and private law cases. Tribunal jurisdictions collect data which allows disaggregation into case type.(2) Hearing conducted remotely or in personHMCTS rapidly increased capacity for video and audio hearings as part of the response to Covid-19. At present for most jurisdictions the only information is a manual data collection via a ‘situation report’ (to provide overall picture of use of audio/video) and is not attached to cases. In the Magistrates’ Court there is a case marker to show if defendant appears via audio/video.(3) Protected characteristicsLegacy systems collect some limited data on protected characteristics. As recommended by Dr Natalie Byrom, work has begun to collect data on users’ protected characteristics. This is data that we have been able to collect for Probate (digital) since 2 June, for Online Civil Money Claims (specified claims) since 21 July, for Divorce (digital) since 29 September and for Probate (paper) since 11 November. HMCTS will introduce this for new digital services entering public beta in 2021. HMCTS recognise that data about individuals’ protected characteristics is sensitive personal information – it is collected on a voluntary basis, held securely and with strict controls. It will only be possible to disaggregate outcomes by protected characteristics if the response rate to the voluntary survey is high enough to ensure individuals cannot be identified.Report (pdf, 532.5KB)

HM Courts and Tribunals Service: Databases

Baroness Taylor of Bolton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what funding they will make available to Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service to implement those recommendations they accepted in their response to the report by Dr Natalie ByromMaking the most of HMCTS data: HMCTS’ full response and update to Dr Byrom’s recommendations, published on 9 October.

Baroness Scott of Bybrook: HMCTS published a full response and progress update in October 2020 to Dr Byrom’s report Digital Justice: HMCTS data strategy and delivering access to justice. The response is attached and details HMCTS response and progress made to date on each of the 29 recommendations.Delivery of HMCTS response is funded in part through existing budgets including the Reform programme, and in part through funding from Administrative Data Research UK.Report (pdf, 532.5KB)

HM Courts and Tribunals Service: Databases

Baroness Taylor of Bolton: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether there is a timetable for implementing the recommendations they accepted in their response to the report by Dr Natalie ByromMaking the most of HMCTS data: HMCTS’ full response and update to Dr Byrom’s recommendations, published on 9 October.

Baroness Scott of Bybrook: HMCTS published a full response and progress update in October 2020 to Dr Byrom’s report Digital Justice: HMCTS data strategy and delivering access to justice. The response is attached and is also available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/hmcts-response-and-progress-update-on-dr-natalie-byrom-report and details HMCTS response and progress made to date on each of the 29 recommendations. The response confirms timelines for the collection of protected characteristics data; for starting to share data with academic researchers and others as part of the Data First project, and for the development of our approach to open and shared data.Report (pdf, 532.5KB)

Courts: Standards

Baroness Taylor of Bolton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what targets they have set, if any, for reducing the backlog of outstanding cases across courts and tribunals in England and Wales.

Baroness Scott of Bybrook: HMCTS has published an update on their response to Covid-19 in the criminal courts, Civil and Family Courts and Tribunals in England and Wales, please see attached.This provides a comprehensive update on recovery plans and the work being undertaken to restore capacity. This includes installing plexiglass screens to make the estate COVID-secure, recruiting additional staff and establishing Nightingale courts.Report (pdf, 693.9KB)Report2 (pdf, 860.6KB)

Repossession Orders

Baroness Taylor of Bolton: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many house repossession claims were outstanding in each month since March this year.

Baroness Scott of Bybrook: The requested information is not held by HMCTS. Some possession claims do not progress because they have concluded by other means without the court being notified (for example because the Defendant has left the property or paid any arrears) and for this reason outstanding volumes cannot be calculated.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Gaza: Coronavirus

Lord Judd: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports of the shortage of oxygen supplies for COVID-19 patients in Gaza; and what steps they are taking, if any, to address any such shortage.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: We remain concerned about the capacity of the Palestinian health system to cope with the increasing number of COVID-19 cases, especially in Gaza. We welcome the recent 30% increase in hospital beds for patients suffering critical and severe cases and the recent procurement by World Health Organisation of two additional oxygen generators. The UK continues to monitor the situation closely.

Palestinians: Food Supply

Lord Judd: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the level of food insecurity in Palestine during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The outbreak of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs) has exacerbated the humanitarian and food insecurity situation. Prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, food insecurity, driven by high poverty and unemployment, affected 1.6 million Palestinians - nearly a third of the population in OPTs.We recognise the importance of tackling food insecurity. To support, we are providing £2.5 million to the World Food Programme to provide food and cash assistance to the most vulnerable Palestinians in West Bank and Gaza. We have also contributed £1 million to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency's Emergency Appeal in the OPTs which will help provide emergency food to over one million food-insecure refugees in Gaza.

Gaza: Health Services

Lord Judd: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to reports of an increase of COVID-19 cases in Gaza, what action they are taking with international partners to support the health care system in thatregion.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK remains concerned about the ongoing humanitarian situation in Gaza and the impact of COVID-19 on an already fragile healthcare system. Recognising the severity of the situation, we were one of the first donors to provide funding to support the health and humanitarian response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. We have provided £1.25 million funding (the World Health Organisation with £630,000 and the United Nations Children's Fund with £620,000) to purchase and co-ordinate delivery of medical equipment, treat critical care patients, train frontline health workers and scale up laboratory testing capacity - mainly in Gaza.

Ministry of Defence

Royal Scots Dragoon Guards: Staff

Lord Campbell of Pittenweem: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the (1) nominal, and (2)actual, strength of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards.

Baroness Goldie: The Army Regular Trade Trained Strength at Regimental Duty against Workforce Requirement for Royal Scots Dragoon Guards as at 1st October 2020 can be found in the attached table:HL11521 - Royal Scots Dragoon Guards (docx, 212.9KB)

Royal Regiment of Scotland: Staff

Lord Campbell of Pittenweem: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the (1) nominal, and (2) actual, strength of the individual battalions of the Royal Regiment of Scotland.

Baroness Goldie: The Army Regular Trade Trained Strength at Regimental Duty against Workforce Requirement for The Royal Regiment of Scotland by Battalion as at 1st October 2020 can be found in the attached table.HL11520 - Royal Scotland Regiments; Battalions (docx, 100.8KB)

Type 45 Destroyers: Energy Supply

Lord Empey: To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made towards improving the effectiveness and reliability of power plants on Type 45 destroyers.

Baroness Goldie: I refer the noble Lord to the reply given by my hon. Friend, the Minister for Defence Procurement (Jeremy Quin), in the House of Commons on 8 June 2020 to the hon. Member for Dunfermline and West Fife (Douglas Chapman), in response to Question numbers 53459 and 53460.53459 - T45 Destroyers; Repair and Maintenance (docx, 15.3KB)

Veterans: Northern Ireland

Lord Empey: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many veterans in Northern Ireland are in receipt of (1) a war disablement pension, or (2) Armed Forces compensation.

Lord Empey: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many veterans in Northern Ireland are in receipt of a war pension scheme mobility supplement.

Baroness Goldie: As at 31 March 2020 there were 3,558 UK Armed Forces veterans in receipt of a War Disablement Pension under the War Pension Scheme and 65 UK Armed Forces veterans in receipt of a tax-free monthly Guaranteed Income Payment under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) residing in Northern Ireland. AFCS tax-free lump sum awards are paid to Service personnel and veterans as compensation for pain and suffering for an injury or illness that is predominantly caused or made worse by Service. Location data is not routinely updated following payment of a lump sum award. Where a lump sum award has been made at tariff levels 1-11 (reflecting a more serious injury/illness), the claimant will also be awarded a tax-free index-linked income stream known as a Guaranteed Income Payment (GIP). As at 31 March 2020 there were 654 UK Armed Forces veterans in receipt of the War Pension Mobility Supplement under the War Pension Scheme residing in Northern Ireland.

Royal Navy: Staff

Lord Campbell of Pittenweem: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the (1) nominal, and (2) actual, strength of the Royal Navy.

Baroness Goldie: The workforce requirement of the Royal Navy (RN) is 30,700 and the actual strength is 29,030. Such plans however are not static and the Department quite rightly assesses and revises workforce plans to make sure Defence has the right people, with the right skills, at the right time, in the right place to deliver for the UK. The Prime Minister’s announcement on 19 November 2020 to increase Defence funding by £24.1 billion over the next four years marked the first outcome of the Integrated Review. The review is due to be published in early 2021 and further details of the new platforms, capabilities, programmes and personnel opportunities that stem from it will follow in due course.

Air Force: Staff

Lord Campbell of Pittenweem: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the (1) nominal, and (2) actual, strength of the Royal Air Force.

Baroness Goldie: The workforce requirement of the Royal Air Force is 31,869 and the actual strength is 29,853. Such plans however are not static and the Department quite rightly assesses and revises workforce plans to make sure Defence has the right people, with the right skills, at the right time, in the right place to deliver for the UK. The Prime Minister’s announcement on 19 November 2020 to increase Defence funding by £24.1 billion over the next four years marked the first outcome of the Integrated Review. The review is due to be published in early 2021 and further details of the new platforms, capabilities, programmes and personnel opportunities that stem from it will follow in due course.

Fort George: Armed Forces

Lord Campbell of Pittenweem: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they plan to close Fort George; and where the military units currently stationed there willsubsequently be stationed.

Baroness Goldie: Defence remains committed to the disposal of Fort George, currently scheduled to take place in 2032. This disposal date is under continuous review as part of our assessment of the site, in-line with wider Defence scheduling and priorities.The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland (3 SCOTS) will relocate to an alternative location in Scotland. Work is ongoing to establish the most suitable future location.

RAF Leuchars: Armed Forces

Lord Campbell of Pittenweem: To ask Her Majesty's Government whichmilitary units are currently stationedat Leuchars Station.

Baroness Goldie: Leuchars Station is currently home to The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards and 2 Close Support Battalion Royal Electrical & Mechanical Engineers. In addition, the Station is home to elements of 71 Engineer Regiment and also No. 612 Squadron RAF, both Reserve Units. The East of Scotland University Air Squadron also operates from there.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Public Footpaths: Repairs and Maintenance

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on the rate of(1) erosion, and (2) widening, of footpaths in upland, coastal and other popular areas due to any increased usage during the COVID-19 pandemic; and what plans they have to provide extra funding to national parks and other relevant authorities for any resulting extra costs for the repair and maintenance of such footpaths.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: The maintenance of public rights of way is a local issue and local authorities are required to keep a Rights of Way Improvement Plan (ROWIP) to plan improvements to the existing rights of way network in their area.Local authorities receive most of their rights of way funding from central Government through the Revenue Support Grant (RSG) to deliver various duties, including ROWIPs. It is not ring-fenced, and we cannot say how much of the RSG authorities should spend on ROWIPs. It is up to local authorities to manage their own budgets and decide how much they should spend on their different duties and for local people to hold them to account.